How should businesses view these global trends and events? How are behaviors and spending changing? In this report, Insider Intelligence analysts weigh in on the questions they’re being asked by both clients and the media about the shifting landscape in key areas like digital advertising, retail and ecommerce, and financial services.

China’s zero-COVID policy hinders retailers at home and abroad: The mitigation measures put the brakes on both retail sales and manufacturing, which could have long-term implications.

TSMC is raising prices for the second time in a year: The company blames increased costs and expansion. Long-term effects may be loss of business from customers feeling the squeeze.

Apple, Amazon, and Starbucks are fighting hard against unionization efforts: While the companies’ aggressive stands aim to protect their bottom lines, doing so could sully their reputation.

Consumers want control over their ad experiences: Google is taking steps toward greater personalization, but new data suggests that personalization experiences don’t always yield better results for advertisers.

Big Tech gets corrected: Tech industry stocks have taken a beating so far in 2022, but given the pandemic’s upheaval, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Another reincarnation looms.

From 1,000 songs in your pocket to $3 trillion in theirs: The iconic music player set the computer maker on a course to dominate consumer products that carried over to the iPhone and beyond.

About two-thirds of the US population ages 12 and older listens to digital audio at least once per week, up 5 percentage points from 2021. Over the past decade, that share has grown by 38 percentage points, making the weekly listenership now 192 million strong.

Big Tech gets old-fashioned: Apple summoning its employees back to the office isn’t going over well. As workers threaten to quit, other tech companies could fill the satisfaction gap.

Two years in, Meta’s latest ecommerce effort fails to resonate: Ecommerce could soften the blow to its ad business, but it’s struggling to catch on.

Apple’s shift away from tech doesn’t come at the expense of its brand: Once known for its sleek hardware, Apple is now focusing on media.

AppTrackingTransparency isn’t the death knell some feared: Just under half of all users have consented to tracking, far above initial estimates.

Big Tech squares off against unions: Momentum is on the side of workers seeking higher wages and transparency. How companies address brewing labor movements could be a red flag for regulators.

The tech giant appears to have switched Apple Cash over from Discover to Visa and enhanced fraud prevention features for Apple Pay.

Podcast listening keeps making gains, and the medium is becoming a bigger part of marketers’ audio strategies.

Brands and retailers prioritize sustainability for Earth Day, but actions speak louder than words: Amazon, Apple, and Coca-Cola are some of the brands touting their green initiatives this April amid growing consumer concern over the environment.

The metaverse is expected to be a major disruptor across industries, but it's still early days for the emerging realm. In this report, we look at how different markets are embarking on their own metaverse business models.

In March, just over half of email opens worldwide came from Apple devices using Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), a feature released in September 2021 that prevents email senders from receiving data on Mail app users’ device usage, among other information. About one-third of opens came from webmail, while the remaining slice was split fairly evenly between desktop and mobile.

Neobank and Big Tech competition, rising mobile adoption, and new touchpoints like the metaverse are pushing banks to rethink their branch footprints. They must react to evolving consumer banking preferences so they can future-proof their branches.

Dimon warns of competition diminishing banks’ role in financial services: The JPMorgan Chase CEO’s annual letter to shareholders identified rising competitors and defended tech spending as necessary for maintaining the bank’s standing.